MSNBC host feuds with network over campaign coverage
Melissa Harris-Perry, a television personality on MSNBC, refused to host the show bearing her name Saturday, in a clash with the network that pre-empted her program repeatedly for presidential campaign coverage, according to news reports.
The show normally airs Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon. But she complained she hasn’t appeared for weeks because of coverage of primaries in South Carolina and New Hampshire.
In an email to co-workers obtained by CNN and the New York Times, Harris-Perry wrote that she was not sure whether to blame NBC News chairman Andrew Lack or MSNBC president Phil Griffin.
“Here is the reality: Our show was taken — without comment or discussion or notice — in the midst of an election season,” Harris-Perry wrote. “After four years of building an audience, developing a brand and developing trust with our viewers, we were effectively and utterly silenced.”
In a statement to CNN, NBC attributed the pre-emptions to the 2016 presidential campaign. Her show hasn’t been canceled, according to network spokesmen.
"In this exciting and unpredictable presidential primary season, many of our daytime programs have been temporarily upended by breaking political coverage, including M.H.P.," the statement said. "This reaction is really surprising, confusing and disappointing."
